Around 30 soldiers completed course and were assigned to the IDF’s various branches.

Days after the IDF admitted it uses cyberspace to attack its enemies, additional
details were revealed Tuesday on the way soldiers are trained to defend military
networks from cyber-attacks.

Elbit Systems, a leading Israeli defense
contractor, unveiled its new cyber-simulator, which The Jerusalem Post has
learned was already purchased by the IDF’s C4I Directorate.

The simulator
was developed specifically to train government and military personnel how to
protect critical infrastructure and sensitive computer networks, like those used
by the IDF.

The simulator offers training to prevent cyberwarfare events
by simulating network protection scenarios. It allows debriefing and evaluation
sessions in order to draw conclusions from the trainees’ performance.

In
April, the IDF made history with the graduation of its first course of
cyber-defenders, a new role established to prevent cyberattacks against IDF
networks. One of the systems used in the training of the soldiers is Elbit’s new
simulator.

Around 30 soldiers completed the course and were assigned to
the IDF’s various branches, where they are responsible for preventing
infiltrations into military networks.

Due to the presumed increase in the
cyber-threat to Israel, the IDF general staff recently approved a multi-year
program to beef up cyber-defenses including the expansion of personnel as well
as new technological capabilities.

The IDF recently organized the units
that deal with cyber-warfare, establishing offensive capabilities and operations
within Military Intelligence’s Unit 8200 and defensive operations within a new
division within the C4I Directorate.

One of the IDF’s primary concerns is
the possibility that an enemy will topple military networks during a war. In
recent years, the military has invested heavily in digitizing its ground forces
through initiatives such as the Tzayad digital army program, which allows units
to share information on the location of friendly and hostile units.